Third Edition of the series on The faith of our Founding Fathers
As I begin putting words together for this third and final edition (series on Founding Fathers’ Faith) I need to resort to some basics. It is so easy to get caught up in the fray of circumstances and somehow allow the basics to become clouded by the excitement of the chase. Haven’t you wondered just what a dog would do if he actually caught the car he is busting himself to catch? The God of Christians and Jews has never been known to be in a hurry; a very short list could start with Abraham. God promised Abraham he would become the father of a great nation – greater in population than the sands of the sea. His wife Sarah was in on that promise and “laughed within herself” when she overheard the Lord say she was going to have a baby; and she was 90 when she got that word! “Yeah,” she thought, “and that old man I’m married to will turn 34 too!”
Moses qualifies to be one more saint who faithfully “waited in line” for God to work. Someone once said of Moses, “He lived a third of his life learning how to be somebody; and the next third of his life being nobody; and the last third of his life as a man who had learned both lessons.” God told him he was going to deliver the children of Israel from bondage. “Yeah, Lord, but when?” The 11th chapter of the book of Hebrews begins with these words: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.” (King James Version) This single verse is probably among the large list of words that are hard for humans to understand.
We earthlings invented the idea of “time” as we know it; God did not invent the clock. Did someone notice the shadows changed their position as the day slowly moved along? Can’t you just see the gleam in the eye of that first person who thought, “Wonder what I can do with that information?” The monks dedicated their lives to a system of holiness that involved saying many prayers and writing many words, word after word and line after line. “How long do we do the work of scribes?” and “When is the next period of prayers and when does it end?” This became the project of a person like the one who noticed shadows moving. What else could move? The rest is history. Surprisingly the very instrument man created as a tool to “count time” ultimately made man a slave. At least that is what a lot of hourly workers often think – “I’m a slave to the clock.” That slavery continues to this day to meet deadlines, appointments and schedules.
It is obvious I am among many who are concerned about where some are leading our nation. How far can you bend a principle before it breaks? It is still faith in divine principles that compels those of us watching others “do their thing” that makes us wonder, “Where are we headed?”
During the seven decades I have lived I have observed life and people. It is not difficult to reach conclusions that should alarm us. What happens if we become lethargic in our prayers? What happens when we fail to “teach our children in the way of the Lord?” Moral decay is the result and integrity, ethics and faith in God are no longer important. What happens when we fail to administer justice properly or maybe go a step further than what is just? Ponder the following quote:
“[N]either the wisest constitution nor the wisest laws will secure
the liberty and happiness of a people whose manners are universally corrupt.”
– Samuel Adams (essay in The Public Advertiser, Circa 1749)
Reference: The Life and Public Service of Samuel Adams, William Wells, vol. 1 (22)
Humans can make mistakes. Some have been falsely accused and even executed. Only through sheer bulldogged research of a third party putting bits and pieces together it was discovered the one executed was completely innocent! Such news is regretfully much too late.
But back to the concern of some – and the wisdom of our Founding Fathers. Lethargy, integrity, patriotism, apathy, insincerity, agendas, selfishness, pride and hate — nine words that cannot be taken lightly or ignored. I believe we need watchmen as much as those who thought they were safe in castles of stone. We need boundaries and guidelines. Someone is always ready to push the envelope one inch further. Our two-party system supposedly was “the answer” to keeping our ship of state on an even keel. The possibility of one party striking off in an unwise direction has always existed; however as I have said before, it is disturbing to me why either party feels they must have complete control. The Party has become more important than the people! It makes no difference whether you are a Democrat or a Republican – there is not a nickel’s worth of difference from the other, they are both guilty of improprieties! In spite of the sham of addressing each with “The honorable representative from Iowa (or any of the 50 states)…” yet moments later they are planting seeds of distrust for the party on the other side of the aisle. If they are honorable, trusting them should not be a problem. Where is the cooperation and compromise that is vital to good government?
If you are among those who feel quotes by the Founding Fathers have been over dramatized, so be it. The resources I have most used were “written down and preserved” through the years long before e-mail urban legends became the norm. Perhaps we have been desensitized to honor and integrity so much by unscrupulous public servants we have concluded virtues are non-existent. But the words, “our sacred duty” were not glibly spoken by the Founding Fathers. “When Patrick Henry gave one of the most famous speeches of the revolutionary era, saying, ‘Give me liberty or give me death,’ his fellow delegates (including Jefferson and Washington) sat in awed silence.” (From William J. Bennett’s “Our Sacred Honor”)
Somewhere we have to consider the responsibility to think and make value judgments. Several years ago I came across the following quote that needs to be considered:.
“The person who won’t think
has no advantages
over the person who can’t think.”
…Paul Lutus
The first person that comes to my mind as falling in line with this comment is the one who says, “Don’t confuse me with facts, my mind is made up.” One thing for sure, they might as well admit to being equal to the poor soul who cannot think.
The next quote is one by President George Washington. Please note the inclusiveness or far-reaching concept Washington makes; we cannot or should not ignore the essence of the thought that “our God” is really not American but is available and reachable by the entire world.
“It is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of
Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits,
and humbly to implore his protection and favors.”
– George Washington (Thanksgiving Proclamation, 3 October 1789)
Reference: George Washington: A Collection, W.B. Allen, ed. (543)
I have often heard the phrase, “God is on our side,” however the ones using such a phrase are operating on an incorrect premise; it is God, first and foremost and we are the subjects, not God being our “good luck charm”. It is an arrogant claim to say “God is on our side”, or our fan; nothing could be further from the truth.
I believe there have been sufficient references in the use of quotes this humble essayist has supplied, but, in closing this brief series, please consider the following:
“When lies are repeated often enough, even wise men begin to accept them.”
Ben Ames Williams, in “House Divided, 1947)”
“The world is a dangerous place to live—not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.” —Albert Einstein
“The world has no room for cowards. We must all be ready somehow to toil, to suffer, to die. And yours is not the less noble because no drum beats before you when you go out into your daily battlefields, and no crowds shout about your coming when you return from your daily victory or defeat.” —Robert Louis Stevenson
“Immigrants in past centuries came here to become Americans, not to remain foreigners, much less to proclaim the rights of their homelands to reclaim American soil, as some of the Mexican activist groups have done… Today, immigrant spokesmen promote grievances, not gratitude, much less patriotism.” —Thomas Sowell
“[R]eligion, or the duty which we owe to our creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence…” —Article 16 of the Virginia Bill of Rights
“Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.”
—Mother Teresa
“Beware of all politicians at all times, but beware of them most sharply when they talk of reforming and
improving the constitution.” — H. L. Mencken
THE WORDWRIGHT